JEREMY LAGOO, KREM

Forrest Gump, the quotable Tom Hanks character, had a knack for showing up in mid-20th century American history. Jeremy Lagoo has a similar skill of being in some of the most random places for a Spokane weathercaster.

If you’re a fan of music festivals like Bonnaroo, there’s a chance Lagoo sold you a corn dog. Or if you’re an aficionado of trick water-skiing groups that form human pyramids, perhaps you saw Lagoo on the Portland Water Spectacular team. Like to watch downhill ski racing in Minnesota or buy used cars from a chatty salesman? Again, Lagoo’s your Gump.

These are formative experiences that KREM’s chief meteorologist had before he landed in his current career, which, by his own admission, he fell into unintentionally after twice dropping out of an aeronautical engineering program “because I wasn’t happy doing it.”

Meteorology has a close connection to aeronautical engineering, so his switch to forecasting makes sense. Being a TV weather person wasn’t on his radar until a friend in Portland on that water-skiing team suggested he make a demo tape.

With KREM, Lagoo is at a station with a penchant for producing local news icons. The foremost of those is his predecessor as chief meteorologist — and winner of this Best Of category for 28 consecutive years — Tom Sherry, who retired last year.

“Tom did more for this community than I can ever think about doing,” Lagoo says, referring to Sherry’s forecasting and community service like Tom’s Turkey Drive. “The overall shadow of Tom Sherry is too much to think about. If you try to be someone else, you will always fail.”

Being himself, either selling corn dogs to festival goers or telling Inland Northwest residents what weather to expect, is something Lagoo leans into now. He knows he’s not Tom Sherry or anyone else. His own personality and expertise come through on TV and in grocery store conversations when people recognize him.

“My quirky personality has kind of always been there,” Lagoo says. “Even when I was going to school for nothing but science, I was still overly confident, and just an oddball. Nobody ever told me I couldn’t be weird or over the top. Now it’s something I have leaned into.”

— SCOTT A. LEADINGHAM

2nd PLACE: Leslie Lowe, KHQ

3rd PLACE: Kris Crocker, KXLY

BEST

@NAHIELY.ALEXANDRA

When Nahiely Heredia discovered TikTok in 2020, along with the rest of the world, she never expected it to lead to her job as a content creator. It wasn’t until she made a viral video last July that it all became reality.

“That one video literally changed my life,” she says.

The video, which now sits at 945,000 views, features Heredia reviewing Amazon and Skims bodysuits as a plus-sized woman. That kickstarted her platform as a self-described “curvy content creator,” where she engages her audience of more than 130,400 followers to embrace themselves and their bodies.

“I just like the idea of connecting with women who have struggled seeing themselves or visualizing themselves, in the media and in this world, and loving their body,” Heredia says. “People need to love themselves to their core, so that’s the people I try to connect with.”

With an influx of followers and views, Heredia has since generated enough traction to make influencing a part-time job. Now, she collaborates with brands and creates content for her followers, engaging a diverse community of individuals, including plus-sized women, mothers, Latinas, and any woman who feels underrepresented.

“I wanted to connect, I didn’t want to just, like, have a following,” Heredia explains. “Numbers are nothing if you don’t have a genuine community that supports you.”

With dreams of traveling and supporting her family outside the traditional 9-to-5 workday, Heredia has been working hard on the platform to make it a full-time career. And yet, despite her big plans and early successes, Heredia’s main goal remains: to inspire and influence women to love themselves and their bodies.

“I just hope to connect to whoever I’m meant to connect to, whatever that means,” she says. “I’ve always said if I can just inspire one person, then I’m doing something right with my life.”

— ELLIE ROTHSTROM

2nd PLACE: @trendingnorthwest

3rd PLACE (tie): @jayyroot, @wendleford

BEST RECORD/CD STORE HASTINGS

We had CD stores. As in “compact disc.” That’s how long ago 2006 was. But Hastings, you must understand, child, was so much more than a CD store. It was a Blockbuster. It was a GameStop. It was both a Barnes and a Noble. Many an adolescent boy became a man when he underwent the ancient rite of passage of buying a Star Wars video game or Star Wars Expanded Universe book or Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack from a cute Hastings cashier — a real live woman — without dying of embarrassment. Alas, Hastings was long ago replaced by empty storefronts and, seasonally, Spirit Halloweens. Amazon, Steam and Spotify have made it easier to get your Star Wars content without ever interacting with another human being. This is why kids these days have gone soft.

— DANIEL WALTERS

OUR BURGERS

We start with 100% fresh Country Natural Beef. It is a local co-op of ranchers and raised naturally and sustainably with no growth hormones or antibiotics ever.

When ordered, we season and sear the beef to a rich brown and serve it with fresh cut lettuce, tomato, onions on a butter grilled bun with our house made burger sauce.